Gordon City Council Honors Lt. Heath

Fellow Gordon PD members stand with Lt. Clay Heath after Mayor Russell presented him with a watch for 20 years of service to the city.Photo by Lauren O'Brien

By Lauren O’Brien

The Gordon City Council held a monthly meeting on July 14 at 6 p.m. in the council chambers of the City Auditorium.

All the council members were present except Kelly Grant. The board moved to approve the June 9 meeting minutes, to approve the May 31 and June 30 treasurer’s reports and to pay the bills.

City manager Jacob Sheridan described a zoning amendment application by Oppidan Investment Company, the developer of the new Shopko store. They asked the board to change the total surface area of free standing signs to 200 ft. in the C-2 zoning district. The Shopko sign is 150 sq. ft., but Sheridan said they chose 200 should a future business request a larger sign. There was no public comment on the application. The council members voted to approve the application and waive the second and third hearings so Shopko can move forward on their sign.

Trevor Johnson from Dynamic Public Records Management System demonstrated his management system used by police to record suspect and victim information, among other features, through a wireless connection. The company was established in 2009 with headquarters in Dallas, Texas. The company has customers in Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico with hopes to extent their customer base into Nebraska. The program costs $2,000 annually and if the city decides to use Dynamic Public Safety’s server there is an additional $115 charge each month. Council member Tim Bounous said, “It would seem prudent to call someone who’s using the system and getting their impression of who this company is.” The council motioned to table the topic for next month’s meeting.

Mayor Nancy Russell recognized Lt. Clay Heath for his 20 years of service to the City of Gordon Police Department. Lt. Heath was presented with a watch and thanked for his service to the community.

The topic of firepack insurance was discussed after the council motioned to table the item last month. With the renewal set for October, the question involved whether or not the city wanted to change their representation. Becky Haller from Security First Insurance, addressed the council about her experience in the insurance business. Dean Strong of Strong Insurance managed the insurance and set-up the firepack policy about 12 years ago. In the past, the firepack policy was split between the city and the Rural Fire District. The council motioned to keep Strong as their insurance agent and continue to split the city and rural policies.

The council motioned to approve a continuation of the school resource officer contract for the Gordon-Rushville Public Schools.

The Gordon Rescue Squad was given a grant by the State of Nebraska for a Lucas Chest Compression System device. The Lucas Device Grant provided the city with a device that performs chest compressions on its own. The council supported the device because saving a life is worth the cost. The device was almost free with the state’s help. The city has to pay for the training. Bounous asked if they could buy another one, but the state only helped pay for one. No motion was made about the device. It was about sharing information for the purpose it serves.

The council motioned to reappoint Sheridan as the Panhandle Area Development District, PADD, representative. They also motioned to reappoint Sheridan and Bounous as representatives to the Panhandle Resource Conservation and Development that works with PADD.

The preliminary airport tax request was discussed and the council motioned to approve the resolution. The requested amount was $10,650, but it goes down after an evaluation.

Sheridan provided the council with updated employee handbooks. They will review it and accept or decline the revision at next month’s meeting.

Ryan Burdine submitted an application for the Gordon Volunteer Rescue Squad. The rescue squad reviewed his application prior to submitting it to the city council. The council motioned to accept the application for Burdine.

The American Legion requested an extension on liquor sale hours during the fair. They asked to sell until 2 a.m. every night of the fair. City Clerk Kim Buchan said she doesn’t think they plan to sell any alcohol on Monday evening. The council motioned to approve the American Legion’s extended liquor sale hours.

The board went into executive session at 7:25 p.m. to discuss personnel matters. The board reconvened for regular session with a motion to end the meeting shortly thereafter. August 11 at 6 p.m. is the next regular city council meeting.